RPT-Infosys plans to hire 10,000 American workers, open 4 U.S. tech centers

Reuters Staff

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By Stephen Nellis

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1 (Reuters) - India-based IT services firm Infosys Ltd said late on Monday that it plans to hire 10,000 American workers in the next two years and open four technology centers in the United States, starting with a center this August in Indiana, the home state of Vice President Mike Pence.

The move comes at a time when Infosys and some of its Indian peers such as Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro have become political targets in the United States for allegedly displacing jobs of American workers by flying in foreign workers on temporary visas to service their clients in the country.

The IT service firms rely heavily on the H1-B visa program, which President Trump has ordered federal agencies to review.

In a telephone interview with Reuters from Indiana, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said his company plans to hire American workers in fields such as artificial intelligence.

He said the firm has already hired 2,000 American workers as part of a previous effort started in 2014.

"When you think about it from a U.S. point of view, obviously creating more American jobs and opportunities is a good thing," Sikka said. (Editing by Euan Rocha and Muralikumar Anantharaman)